Scottish Executive

Cancer

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of cancer patients are treated outside hospital in comparison with (a) 10 and (b) 20 years ago.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Because of its specialist nature, treatment for cancer is normally available only in hospitals or specialist cancer centres. As a result of improvements in treatments there has been a significant shift from in-patient to out-patient and day case delivery of care. Palliative care is available in the community dependent on individual clinical need.

Cancer

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the statement by Macmillan Cancer Relief that financial worries are the second biggest cause of stress for cancer patients and whether it will consider exempting cancer patients from paying NHS prescription charges as a step towards alleviating any such stress.

Malcolm Chisholm: Access to advice on benefits, debt, employment and housing is available through a number of access points including Citizens Advice Scotland, Money Advice Scotland, the National Debtline telephone advice service, the Department for Work and Pensions’ Benefit Enquiry Line.

  Regarding NHS prescription charges I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6969 answered on 30 March 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Child Mortality

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the mortality rates of children aged under five years per 1,000 have been in each year since 1997, broken down by gender.

Malcolm Chisholm: The mortality rates for children 0 to 4 years old, per 1,000 and by gender are as follows:

  

Males
Females


Year
Rate Per 1,000
Year
Rate Per 1,000


1997
1.4
1997
1.0


1998
1.4
1998
1.1


1999
1.3
1999
1.0


2000
1.4
2000
1.1


2001
1.2
2001
1.2


2002
1.5
2002
1.0



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland,2003

  Further details on mortality rates can be found on the General Register for Scotland website at:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/library.

Children (Scotland) Act 1995

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 place a duty on local authorities to provide support services for children for the whole year and whether these provisions specifically exclude education.

Peter Peacock: Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 requires local authorities to provide and publicise a range and level of services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in their area. Section 27(3) requires local authorities to provide appropriate care outside school hours and during holidays for children in need within their area who are in attendance at a school. There is no stipulation in either section 22 or section 27 as to the timing for such services, nor to specifically exclude educational services. It is for local authorities to determine how to manage their services to ensure that they meet their statutory requirements.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people recovering from addiction to prescribed drugs have been admitted to the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding is available this year for the treatment in residential facilities of drug and alcohol abuse, broken down by NHS board.

Hugh Henry: We do not make separate allocations to NHS boards for treatment services in residential settings. It is for local drug and alcohol action teams to plan and provide services in their areas, tailored to local needs and priorities.

  The table sets out allocations for 2004-05 to NHS boards to support treatment services for patients with drug problems, and for alcohol treatment and prevention work. Services for people with drug and alcohol problems, and associated resources, are often combined, depending on local priorities. In addition, drug and alcohol services are also supported from generic NHS and local authority budgets. The Executive provides £6.8 million per annum to local authorities to support drug rehabilitation services.

  

NHS Board
Drugs
Alcohol


Argyll and Clyde
£1,988,140
£277,000


Ayrshire and Arran
£1,036,958
£213,000


Borders
£169,740
£85,000


Dumfries and Galloway
£271,329
£108,000


Fife
£829,244
£199,000


Forth Valley
£585,494
£148,000


Grampian
£1,963,641
£212,000


Greater Glasgow
£5,488,077
£667,000


Highland
£435,009
£140,000


Lanarkshire
£1,522,892
£246,000


Lothian
£3,719,051
£336,000


Orkney
£33,864
£67,000


Shetland
£57,921
£67,000


Tayside
£1,559,149
£168,000


Western Isles
£91,911
£67,000


Scotland
£19,752,420
£3,000,000

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an education authority is required to provide the necessary support outwith school for a child identified as having a year-round additional support need.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an education authority can refuse to meet a child's agreed year-round additional support needs.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a maximum number of days per annum in which an education authority can provide the support necessary to meet a child’s additional support needs.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a minimum number of days per annum in which an education authority must provide the support necessary to meet a child’s additional support needs.

Peter Peacock: Education authorities have a duty, under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, to secure adequate and efficient provision of school education for their area and this includes provision for special educational needs. There is no stipulation in the legislation on the minimum or maximum number of days on which education provision must be provided, although the Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 1975 specify that education authority schools should be open for at least 190 days a year (excluding weekends).

  Outwith school, under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, local authorities are obliged to provide services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in their area.

  It is for local authorities to determine the extent and timing of the support they may provide to an individual child.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any legislation that prevents education authorities from meeting a child’s year-round additional support needs.

Peter Peacock: Legislation does not prevent education authorities from deciding the extent and timing of any support they may provide to individual children.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has on whether there is a link between the lack of an education and development plan for an autistic child and the child’s anxiety and stress levels.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has on whether there is a link between the effectiveness of the implementation of an education and development plan for an autistic child and the child’s anxiety and stress levels.

Peter Peacock: Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, education authorities have a duty to open a Record of Needs for children with pronounced, specific or complex special educational needs which require continuing review. Part IV of the record contains a statement of the child’s special educational needs and should set out the broad developmental and educational aims for the child. Part V specifies the educational approach to be taken by the authority and the measures proposed to meet the special educational needs of the child. Most children with a Record of Needs are expected to have also an Individualised Educational Programme.

  Individualised Educational Programmes provide the planning framework for the teaching and learning of children with special educational needs who require specific, planned intervention. Individualised Educational Programmes outline the steps to be taken to enable children with special educational needs to achieve specific learning outcomes.

  Advice from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) indicates that where Individualised Educational Programmes are well designed and implemented effectively, they can play an important role in ensuring that the needs of an autistic child, or any other child with additional support needs, are well met. They consequently can be influential in ensuring that the child has a positive educational experience, minimising anxiety and stress. The extent of this influence in any one case naturally depends on the individual child and their circumstances.

  The quality and effectiveness of plans for children with special educational needs, including those with autism, are considered by HMIE as part of their inspections of schools. Furthermore, I have commissioned HMIE to inspect, next year, the provision of educational services for children with autistic spectrum disorder.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many autistic children have been identified as having additional support needs and what provision is available to support such children outwith school.

Peter Peacock: The school census, held in September 2003, indicates that there are 2,663 children with autistic spectrum disorder in primary, secondary and special schools who have a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme. Further details can be obtained from the Pupils in Scotland Statistical Bulletin , published by the Scottish Executive in June 2004, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33356).

  Outwith school, local authorities are required to provide services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in their area. It is for local authorities to determine the services they provide in their area and these may include provision from voluntary organisations.

General Practitioners

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP practices have closed their patient lists in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: :

  

NHS Fife
5


NHS Greater Glasgow 
1


Total
6



  The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts)(Scotland) Regulations 2004 came into effect on 1 April 2004 and introduced a statutory arrangement under which a GP practice can close its patient list. Since 1 April 2004, six lists have been closed to new patients.

  It has always been open to a GP practice to refuse an application from a patient to join its patient list but previously there were no provisions for lists to be closed. Any patient whose application is refused becomes eligible to be assigned to a practice by the local health board. A practice may decide to refuse all applications for a particular period for various reasons, such as when a partner was on study leave, but in the past, unless the patient list was at the maximum of 3,500 per doctor, it was open to the health board still to assign patients to such a practice. Only by formal closure under the new procedures will a practice not receive further patients.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that all patients have access to homeopathic treatments.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether homeopathic treatments will be available to all patients with mental health problems.

Malcolm Chisholm: Homeopathic treatment is for NHS boards to provide on the basis of their assessments of local need and local priorities. The Executive does not hold full information on NHS provision centrally, but Greater Glasgow, Highland and Lothian all provide homeopathic treatment through hospitals and clinics. Approximately 25% of GPs hold qualifications in homeopathy or have undergone some homeopathic training, and so have other medical professionals. Napier University has recently established a BSc course in homeopathy for nurses, which will lead to further integration of homeopathic treatment within the NHS in Scotland. Referral for homeopathic treatment in any given case is a matter for clinical judgement, in consultation with the patient.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the healthy life expectancy at birth has been in each year since 1997, broken down by gender.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on healthy life expectancy is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under the Consultancy Service, at http://www.isdscotland.org/consultancy . The "Healthy Life Expectancy in Scotland" report considers three health measures but recommends the use of self-assessed health if a single measure of health status is required.

  These data have not been produced for 1997 and 1999. Data for 2000 is the latest available. A summary table of the information available from the "Healthy Life Expectancy" report is as follows:

  Annual Estimates of Healthy Life Expectancy at Birth Using "Good" or "Fairly Good" Self-Assessed Health1,2: 1998 and 20003

  

 
Male
Female


1998
65.2
68.2


2000
65.3
67.3



  Notes:

  1. Self-assessed health is a measure of perceived health status that has also been collected in many surveys (including the General Household Survey).

  2. The Healthy Life Expectancy report recommends that a single measure of healthy life expectancy be defined as "The number of years that an individual at birth can expect to live in "Good" or "Fairly Good" general health".

  3. Separate figures for males and females have been produced for Scotland from the 1998 and 2000 waves of the General Household Survey.

Health Expenditure

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total health expenditure per capita has been in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is set out in the table:

  

Year
Health Expenditure Per Capita (Cash)


1997-98
£850


1998-99
£896


1999-2000
£967


2000-01
£1,053



  The above figures are on a cash basis. In 2001-02 the basis of Government accounting was changed from cash to resource, the following figures are on a resource basis:

  

Year
Health Expenditure Per Capita (Resource)


2001-02
£1,237


2002-03
£1,335


2003-04
£1,443



  The figures for 2001-02 and 2002-03 include capital charges at 6% while the figures for 2003-04 include capital charges at a revised rate of 3.5%.

Health Expenditure

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total health expenditure as a percentage of GDP has been in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Chisholm: Table 1 – Level of public health expenditure as a % of GDP, 1997 to 2002

  

Year
Level of Health Expenditure as a % of GDP


1997
6.3


1998
6.4


1999
6.7


2000
7.0


2001
8.0


2002
8.2



  (a) The table shows only the levels of public health expenditure as a proportion of GDP in Scotland since 1997. The level of total health expenditure is unknown because the level of private health expenditure is not quantifiable.

  (b) GDP figures are estimates using market prices.

Justice

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with public, private or regulatory organisations regarding the theft of power supplies in the last two years.

Lewis Macdonald: The regulation of the energy markets is a reserved matter and the theft of power supplies is a matter for the regulator, Ofgem. Ofgem has recently stepped up its efforts to tackle the problem of energy theft, producing a discussion paper on the subject in April 2004. This is part of a longer term consultation with the industry to tackle the problem.

Justice

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the increase in the average time period between plea and summary trial date in Paisley Sheriff Court from 2002-03 to 2003-04.

Cathy Jamieson: The increase in the average time period is a result of an increased demand for the available trial slots in the normal court programme. The increase has come from a 10.3% increase in the number of new summary cases registered at Paisley and an increase in the number of trials adjourned from the date originally assigned to a second or subsequent date. Of the total trials fixed, the number of trials adjourned at the Intermediate Diet stage rose from 11.5% to an average 14.5%. Of the trials calling in trial courts, which was an average of 55% of those originally assigned, 32% of that figure were adjourned to a further date for trial.

Justice

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken in the last year to address the increase in the average time period between plea and summary trial date in Paisley Sheriff Court from 2002-03 to 2003-04.

Cathy Jamieson: In the last year the normal court programme has been altered by setting up additional summary trial courts during May, June and November 2003 and also during March, April and May 2004. The number of trials assigned for each trial court also increased from November 2003. These changes to the court programme were sanctioned by the Sheriff Principal following discussions with officials of the Scottish Court Service and the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Sheriff Principal is also conducting an investigation into an increase in the number of trials adjourned without evidence having been led.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted of fire-raising as the main charge in each of the last five years (i) in total and (ii) broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Fire-Raising1, 1998-2002

  

Police Force Area
1998
1999
2000
2001
20022


Total number proceeded against:
 


Central 
10
8
6
11
14


Dumfries and Galloway
8
7
3
9
5


Fife 
13
10
18
14
18


Grampian 
9
13
10
18
16


Lothian and Borders 
20
18
19
16
24


Northern 
14
8
5
8
11


Strathclyde 
56
56
60
63
52


Tayside
20
19
13
13
17


Scotland
150
139
134
152
157


Number with charge proved:
 


Central 
10
5
4
9
12


Dumfries and Galloway
6
7
2
6
4


Fife 
10
8
13
14
15


Grampian 
6
13
9
12
10


Lothian and Borders 
19
15
15
16
22


Northern 
14
7
5
8
8


Strathclyde 
41
44
44
45
48


Tayside 
16
9
11
9
16


Scotland
122
108
103
119
135



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Recording delays mean that persons proceeded against where the charge was not proved may be under-stated in the totals for persons proceeded against.

Libraries

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the figures are for public libraries in respect of (a) net expenditure, (b) expenditure per head of population, (c) professional, non-professional and manual staff numbers, (d) expenditure on staff, (e) the number of books and other items issued, (f) the average number of issues per head of population of books and other items, (g) book funds, (h) funds for audio and other non-book items, (i) the number of branch and mobile libraries and (j) the number of branches open for 45 or more hours per week in (i) 1995-96, (ii) 1999-2000 and (iii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Mr Frank McAveety: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Executive. However, the following, from figures published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting, the Library and Information Statistics Unit and the Scottish Library and Information Council’s (SLIC) Public Library Expenditure Statistics, has been put together by SLIC:

  

 
Category
1995-96
1999-2000
2001-02


a
Net expenditure
£88,540,000
£84,130,565
£88,820,942 


b
Expenditure per head of population
£17.24
£16.85
£17.53


c
Professional staff 
682
641
629


 
Non-professional staff
2200
2193
2308


 
Manual staff
225
211
n/a


d
Expenditure on staff
£47,823,366
£50,529,300
£54,120,315


e
The number of books and other items issued
50,371,673
41,915,979
36,538,039


f
Average issues per head of population
9.8
8.62
7.1


g
Book funds
£13,330,000
£10,612,490
£10,032,972


h
Funds for audio and other non-book items
£1,290,000
£1,643,032
£2,334,780


i
Number of branch libraries 
576
568
557


 
Number of mobile libraries
102
93
93


j
Number of branches open for 45 hours or more per week
195
178
180

Livestock

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regard it has had, in relation to the new arrangements for payments to farmers, to the interests and particular needs of west Highland farmers who do not keep calves for the whole year but who "sell on the white"; how their interests will be taken account of under the new regime, and whether the new regime and rules will have any impact on the continuance of beef farming in the west coast areas, for example by acting as a disincentive to continuing beef farming.

  The member has provided the following Gaelic translation:

  S2W-09687 Fearghas Ewing (Inbhir Nis an Ear, Inbhir Narann agus Loch Abar) (SNP): A dh’ fhaighneachd de Riaghaltas na h-Alba dè an aire a thug e, a thaobh rianan ùra airson phàighidhean do thuathanaich, do na com-pàirtean agus do na feuman sònraichte aig tuathanaich ann an taobh an iar na Gaidhealtachd nach bi a’ cumail laoigh fad na bliadhna, ach a bhios gan reic air a’ gheal ("sell on the white"); mar a bheirear aire don chom-pàirt aca fon rèim ùr agus ma bhios buaidh sam bith aig an rèim agus na riaghaltean ùra air leantainneachd an tuathanachas mairtfheolach ann an sgìrean an Taobh Siar, mar eiseimpleir, nam biodh seo na mhì-bhrosnachadh do leantainneachd tuathanachais mairtfheolich.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has considered the interests and needs of all Scottish farmers, including those in the west Highlands, when deciding how best to implement the new Common Agricultural Policy arrangements. The arrangements for the beef national envelope - announced recently - will provide an incentive for the continued production of beef bred calves in Scotland; they will be to the particular advantage of store cattle producers who are not able to fatten their calves and young stock and who would be affected by the expected fall in price of store animals. Many of these store producers are smaller producers in the north and west. A higher rate payment of approximately £70 will apply to the first 10 calves on each holding, with approximately £35 to be paid on all other calves. Smaller producers in the more remote areas will benefit from receiving the higher payment for a greater proportion of their calves.

  The Executive has provided the following Gaelic translation:

  Thug Riaghaltas na h-Alba air beachdachadh air ùidhean ‘s feuman gach tuathanach an Alba, a’ gabhail a-staigh an fheadhainn air taobh siar na Gàidhealtachd, ann an co-dhùnadh dè an dòigh as fheàrr air ullachaidhean ùra Poileasaidh Coitcheann an Àiteachais a bhuileachadh. Bidh na h-ullachaidhean airson cèis nàiseanta na mairtfheòla – a chaidh fhoillseachadh o chionn ghoirid – na brosnachadh airson cumail a’ dol ag àrach laoigh airson mairtfheoil an Alba; bidh iad air leth buannachdail do thuathanaich stuic nach urrainn an laoigh agus an stoc òg a reamhrachadh agus air am biodh buaidh aig an lùghdachadh a thathar a’ sùileachadh ann am prìs stuic. ’S e gnìomhachasan beaga air an taobh tuath agus an taobh an iar a tha aig mòran de na tuathanaich stuic sin. Gheibhear pàigheadh aig ìre nas àirde de mu £70 airson a’ chiad 10 laoigh air gach fearann, le mu £35 ri phàigheadh airson a h-uile laogh eile. Gheibh tuathanaich bheaga sna sgìrean as iomallaiche buannachd a’ phàighidh as àirde airson a’ chuid as motha de na laoigh aca.

Mental Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been treated for depression in each year since 2000, broken down by age.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information that has been requested is not held centrally.

  The only information collated centrally is the estimated episodes of face-to-face consultations for people presenting with depressive symptoms with a general practitioner.

NHS Hospitals

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive which consultant was retained to advise on the installation of air-conditioning in the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures were taken to ensure that the consultant advising on the installation of air-conditioning in the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was aware of Her Majesty’s Government’s policy on the use of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants in air-conditioning and what measures were taken by the consultant to source practical and safe alternatives to hydrofluorocarbon-based air-conditioning.

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an installer capable of installing Not-in-Kind air-conditioning was invited to tender for the air-conditioning contract for the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHS Lothian University Hospitals Division. The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many infection control nurses there are, expressed also per head of population, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows the number and rate per 100,000 population (headcount and whole time equivalent (WTE) of NHS employed infection control nurses at 21 May 2004. Rates per 100,000 population should be treated with caution as the variability between boards may be explained in part by the relatively small number of infection control nurses in each area.

  Number of Infection Control Nurses by NHS Board

  

NHS Board
Headcount at 21-May-04
WTE at 21-May-04
Headcount per 100,000 Population
WTE per 100,000 Population


 Total
128
118.5
2.5
2.3


 NHS Argyll and Clyde
14
14
3.4
3.4


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
5
5
1.4
1.4


 NHS Borders
3
3
2.8
2.8


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
3
3
2
2


 NHS Fife
6
5.8
1.7
1.6


 NHS Forth Valley
4
4
1.4
1.4


 NHS Grampian
9
8.23
1.7
1.6


 NHS Greater Glasgow
23
20.17
2.7
2.3


 NHS Highland
8
6.4
3.8
3.1


 NHS Lanarkshire
11
10.4
2
1.9


 NHS Lothian
19
17.1
2.4
2.2


 NHS Orkney
1
1
5.2
5.2


 NHS Shetland
1
1
4.6
4.6


 NHS Tayside
12
11.6
3.1
3


 NHS Western Isles
2
1.2
7.7
4.6


 Special NHS Boards*
7
6.6
-
-



  Source Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health.

  Source of Population Estimates as at 30 June 2003: General Register Office for Scotland.

  Note: *Special NHS boards include NHS National Services Scotland, Golden Jubilee National Hospital and The State Hospital.

NHS Staff

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS consultant posts are currently vacant, broken down by speciality and NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to S2W-9293, answered on 15 July 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Information on consultant vacancy rates within each specialty is available within Tables B11 (Whole Time Equivalent) and B12 (Headcount) on the ISD website at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

NHS Waiting Lists

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many out-patients were waiting for (a) less than 9 weeks, (b) less than 13 weeks, (c) less than 26 weeks, (d) more than 26 weeks and (e) more than 52 weeks for an NHS appointment, broken down by individual speciality and NHS board, in the most recent quarter for which figures are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number: 33399).

National Health Service

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it records the number of patients who do not attend NHS appointments and if so, whether this information is available for (a) acute and (b) primary care cases, including non-attendance for GP appointments, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on numbers of patients who did not attend their NHS appointment is available only for first outpatient appointments at consultant-led clinics. Information about non-attendance for hospital inpatient and day case treatment and in the primary care sector, including non-attendance at GP appointments, is not collected centrally.

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-9486 on 27 July 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

National Health Service

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost has been to it of patients not attending NHS appointments in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the cost of patients failing to attend NHS appointments is not available centrally. Information is available on the numbers of patients who did not attend their first outpatient appointment with a consultant, and on the average cost of a consultant outpatient attendance.

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-9486 on 27 July 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Prescription Charges

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the income threshold for paying NHS prescription charges.

Malcolm Chisholm: We have no plans to do so.

Skye Bridge

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated outstanding debt in respect of the Skye Bridge would be at the end of (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06, (c) 2006-07, (d) 2007-08 and (e) 2008-09 if the current rate of crossings and consequent income is maintained.

Nicol Stephen: The issue of outstanding debt is a matter for the concessionaire, Skye Bridge Limited in the first instance. The financial information relating to the Skye Bridge project and the detailed terms of the contract are now the subject of commercially confidential negotiations with the concessionaire, with a view to ending the discredited toll regime.

Young Offenders

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which agencies currently provide secure accommodation for young offenders and how many places in such accommodation are provided.

Cathy Jamieson: Secure accommodation is provided for young people who meet secure criteria under S. 70 (10) of the Children (Scotland) Act and those sentenced to detention under sections 205 (2) and 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The providers of secure accommodation in Scotland are:

  Rossie Secure Accommodation Services: 25 places.

  St Mary’s School Kenmure, Bishopbriggs: 31 places.

  Kerelaw School: 24 places.

  Howdenhall and St Katharine’s (Edinburgh) Secure Service providing 12 places.

  The Elms, Dundee providing four places.

  The latter three are local authority provision. Rossie and St Mary’s are independent charitable organisations.